PROTECTING YOUR BRAND ONLINE WHAT THE TWEET?! PROTECTING YOUR BRAND ONLINE ANNIE ALLISON annie.allison@bracewell.com +1.206.204.6228

It’s all online! 3.2 Billion social media users worldwide #1 Facebook #2 YouTube #3 WhatsApp #4 FB Messenger

What Happens in ONE Internet Minute: Facebook: 973,000 logins Snapchat: 2.4M snaps created Google: 3.7M searches querried Twitter: 481,000 tweets sent Tinder: 1.1M swipes YouTube: 4.3M videos watched Instagram: 174,000 scrolling posts Texts: 18,000,000 texts sent

“THE MOST IMPORTANT CURRENCY IS ATTENTION.” -Judith Donath Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society

Challenges for Brands: BRANDJACKING When a person or group hijacks a brand to negatively affect the company’s reputation.

Challenges for Brands: BRANDJACKING WWW.EQUIFAXSECURITY2017.COM WWW.SECURITYEQUIFAX2017.COM

Challenges for Brands: BRANDJACKING When a person or group hijacks a brand to negatively affect the company’s reputation.

Challenges for Brands: USERNAME SQUATTING When someone other than the brand owner registers a brand trademark/name as their username.

verified

Challenges for Brands: INFLUENCERS, ENDORSEMENTS & MARKETING

Challenges for Brands: UNFATHOMABLE SOCIAL MEDIA MOVEMENTS

WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO???

WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Search Social Media. Include social media platforms in your trademark search, registration, and monitoring strategy.

Register. Report. WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Register your brand’s trademarks on social media platforms. Consider verified accounts so consumers know your account is authentic Report. Report infringement. NOTE: Buying and selling usernames may violate the policies of certain platforms.

WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Think Proactively. Make social media vigilance part of your brand strategy. Keep an eye our for new social media platforms.

Be Strategic With Enforcement. WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Be Strategic With Enforcement. Is this fair use?

IS IT FAIR USE? Copyright: Purpose of use (commercial v. non-commercial)? Nature of copyrighted work (creative v. factual)? Amount used? Effect on market? Trademark: Product/service cannot be identified without TM. Only used as reasonably necessary. Not suggesting sponsorship/endorsement by owner.

IS IT FAIR USE? PARODY Parody is fair use where the purpose is to comment on, or criticize a copyrighted work. SATIRE ≠ PARODY

Be Strategic With Enforcement. WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Be Strategic With Enforcement. Is this fair use? Does infringer have history of litigation? Who is infringer’s customer base? Am I being a bully? Can we avoid a PR nightmare?

Prepare NOW. Guidelines for brand-messaging & content sharing WHAT’S A BRAND TO DO? Prepare NOW. Guidelines for brand-messaging & content sharing Policies for Influencers Create a crisis protocol Measure response based on harm. Are there friendly alternatives?

WHAT HAPPENS ON SOCIAL MEDIA DOESN’T STAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA . . . Facebook, Inc. v. Super. Ct. (S230051) May 24, 2018

BRING IN THE HEAT

Enforcing Your Brand: DMCA, UDRP/URS, & the Lanham Act DMCA. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) provides a mechanism for copyright holders to protect their online content.

Enforcing Your Brand: DMCA, UDRP/URS, & the Lanham Act UDRP. The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names. URS. Uniform Rapid Suspension, low-cost resolutions for clear-cut infringement.

Enforcing Your Brand: DMCA, UDRP/URS, & the Lanham Act USPTO Letter of Protest. An informal procedure that allows third parties to provide evidence to the USPTO that may negatively impact registrability of a mark (only applies to pending applications).

Enforcing Your Brand: DMCA, UDRP/URS, & the Lanham Act Section 2(a), False Connection (15 USC §1052(a)). Section 2(c), Living Individual (15 USC §1052(c)). Section 43, Infringement/Unfair Competition (15 USC §1125(a)) (civil action). Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (15 USC §1125(d)) (civil action).

WW_D?

PROTECTING YOUR BRAND ONLINE WHAT THE TWEET?! PROTECTING YOUR BRAND ONLINE THANK YOU! ANNIE ALLISON annie.allison@bracewell.com +1.206.204.6228